Coronavirus government response updates: Pelosi defends slamming Trump over taking unproven drug

wh_052020_govtcovidresponse
wh_052020_govtcovidresponse

Official White House Photo by Tia Dufour

Official White House Photo by Tia DufourBy ABC News

(WASHINGTON) — With all 50 states now at least partially reopened ahead of the Memorial Day holiday weekend, President Donald Trump continues his drive to revive the economy amid the pandemic — even with questions about whether doing so will bring new spikes in cases as the death toll nears 100,000.

This afternoon, he meets with the Republican governor of Arkansas, Asa Hutchinson, who imposed some of the fewest restrictions — he never imposed a stay-at-home order, for example — and is reopening his state faster than most, something Trump is likely eager to highlight.

“I will be wearing a mask. I understand that is required in the West Wing, but I would be wearing a mask anyway,” Hutchinson said at news conference Tuesday. “Secondly, they will be testing me before I go into the West Wing, so that will actually be my first COVID-19 test,” he said.

Earlier, Trump held a conference call with Latino organizations as members of that minority group — often working in service jobs on the front-lines or in jobs where outbreaks are more common — have been hit disproportionately in numbers of cases and deaths.

“Pandemic – A Nation Divided,” ABC News’ special coverage of the heightened racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Tune into “Nightline” for a three-day series starting tonight, 12 a.m. ET on ABC.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, at her weekly news conference, continued to mock Trump for his reaction to her comments about his weight and taking the unproven drug hydroxychloroquine. She spoke as well about her push for a new $3 trillion relief package Trump and Senate Republicans are resisting.

Here are Wednesday’s most significant developments in Washington:

 

Pelosi continues to mock Trump over his weight, taking unproven drug

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defended calling the president “morbidly obese” earlier this week and said she was giving the president a taste of his own medicine while also simply stating the facts.

“I didn’t say anything about the president. I gave him a dose of his own medicine,” Pelosi told reporters Wednesday during a press conference on Capitol Hill.

“He’s called women one thing or another over time and I thought he thinks that passes off as humor in certain cultures … I was only quoting what doctors had said about him, so I was being factual in a very sympathetic way,” she said.

“We don’t want our president taking something that could be dangerous,” she added, referring to Trump saying that he has been taking hydroxychloroquine as a preventative measure.

She went on to blast Trump and compared him to a child walking around with dog poop on his shoes.

“You’re asking me about the appropriateness of the actions of this president of the United States? So completely inappropriate in so many ways that it’s almost a given,” Pelosi said.

“It’s like a child who comes in with mud on their pants … he comes in with doggy-doo on his shoes and everybody who works with him has it on their shoes, too, for a very long time to come,” she said.

Pelosi said doctors have previously asked her, “What’s the matter with him?”

–ABC News’ Mariam Khan

Trump tweets he might try to re-schedule called-off G-7 summit for June

President Trump said Wednesday it might be possible after all for the U.S. to host an in-person G-7 summit at Camp David as early as next month, after previously announcing that the summit would be held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump said on Twitter that because the U.S. is now “transitioning back to greatness,” he’d like to host the summit on or around the same time it was previously planned to take place in June.

“Now that our Country is “Transitioning back to Greatness”, I am considering rescheduling the G-7, on the same or similar date, in Washington, D.C., at the legendary Camp David. The other members are also beginning their COMEBACK. It would be a great sign to all — normalization!” he tweeted.

 

 

The president had announced that the in-person event was being called off back in March.

His idea might be more wishful thinking than realistic.

While the president may think it would send a “great sign to all” that life is returning to normal by hosting a major international summit, he’ll also need to get the leaders of Italy, Japan, Canada ,France Germany, Britain and the European Union to go along with his plan.

His call for world leaders to travel to the U.S. – potentially as soon as next month – comes as most international travel remains grounded. The US State Department’s remarkable “Do Not Travel” advisory for U.S. citizens remains in effect.

On top of all the very significant and ongoing global health concerns, there would be the tremendous challenge associated with ensuring the health and safety of multiple foreign leaders and their delegations while they are gathered together.

On a local level, the virus remains prevalent in Washington, D.C., and Maryland — where Camp David located — and local governments in the area are only beginning to rollout reopening plans.

–ABC News’ Jordyn Phelps

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